Resistance in 'sign war' with MP

Newcastle Resistance branch has entered a "sign war" against federal Labor MP Sharon Grierson.

Grierson's office window displays a sign boasting that the Rudd government's total investment in Newcastle is more than $1.3 billion. On the opposite side of Newcastle's Hunter Street, the Resistance Activist Centre has responded with its own sign exposing that most of this investment is "in climate change and war".

The government's investment into the region includes $580 million for increasing the capacity of the coal train line to Newcastle port. Another $200 million is part of a national project to build new warships.

Resistance member and convenor of the Newcastle University Student Association environment collective Zane Alcorn said: "Sharon's sign looks impressive at first, but the reality is that the Rudd government is most generous when it comes to giving money to the coal industry and building war machines.

"The $580 million to upgrade the coal line will make Newcastle's contribution to climate change worse, pumping out more coal faster at a time when that money should be going into making Newcastle an exporter of renewable energy technology."

From GLW issue 827